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The Internet can be a rough-and-tumble sort of place. That's a fact Acura has learned first hand with its ZDX, which met with a lot of resistance before it was ever in a reviewer's hands. Now that we at High Gear Media have had a chance to give it the once-over, however, we think the masses may have gotten it wrong--at least in part.

Yes, we're still confused as to what it actually is. But what it does is easy enough: it gives Acura an answer to the question asked by the BMW X6 and repeated by the 5-Series Gran Turismo. What was the question? Who knows. Apparently it involved something about hatchbacks, crossovers, and not wanting to fit into established categories.

Once you get past the ontological issues, however, the Acura ZDX--like the X6--is actually an interesting car. Priced to start at $42,500 in base trim, it's also the most affordable of the new breed of luxury crossover/hatch/coupes.

The styling itself is often successful--a muscular fender, a graceful turn of the roofline. But its the utility/performance package that really makes the ZDX. And though it sacrifices a lot of utility with that swooping roofline, it does pack in a fair dose of performance. The 3.7-liter V-6 engine is rated at 300 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, capable of hauling the big vehicle to 60 mph in less than 8 seconds with the help of a six-speed paddle-shifted gearbox.

Power can be shifted around a lot as well, thanks to the Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system. Wile normal driving sees a typical 90-10 front-rear torque split, up to 70% of the engine's power can be sent rearward when necessary. That's enough to give the ZDX a distinctly rear-drive feel, and combined with the ability to send power side to side across the axles, it makes the biggish crossover feel more nimble than it would otherwise.